About Me

A very warm welcome to the blog of Madhwa Brahmins community.We, Madhwa Brahmins are followers of Jagadguru Sriman Madhwacharya. We originally hail from places in Karnataka and the neighboring states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Our main dialects are Kannada, Tulu, Marathi, Telugu and Konkani.

As the above shloka from khila vAyustuti explains, Sri Madhwacharya (also known by the names Poornaprajna and Anandateertha) is the third incarnation of Lord MukhyaprAna Vaayu, after Lord Hanuman and Lord Bheemasena. He is the chief proponent of TattvavAda, popularly known as Dvaita. He was born on Vijayadashami day of 1238 CE at Paajaka Kshetra, a small village near Udupi. He is the 22nd commentator on the Brahma sutras of Lord Sri Veda Vyasa.

Kindly note that this blog contains important topics discussed in our Orkut community and some articles on tattvavAda philosophy. All the topics can be found in the BLOG ARCHIVE (right side)

17 July, 2010

EkAdashi is the eleventh lunar day (tithi) of either shukla (bright) or krishna (dark) paksha (fortnight) of every lunar month in the Hindu almanac (panchAnga).

EkAdashi is called “hari dina”, meaning a day to be dedicated entirely for worshipping Hari, meditating upon Hari, listening to His glory & studying the scriptures.

EkAdashi upavAsa does not mean mere fasting, it means sAmIpya vAsa (dwelling in proximity to the Lord) with archana, japa, katha shravaNa, nirAhAra & jAgarNa. So, after setting apart sometime to basic necessities, the whole day & night is to be spent in thinking about His glories. Even if shrAddha falls on this day, it has to be performed on the next day only.

Observance of EkAdashi cleanses the mind and paves the way for jnAna (right knowledge). It is an established fact that when one does not take food even though there is a desire for it, there will be an increase in self-control and it develops a strong will power. One who controls hunger will be away from sin because hunger is the root cause of many a sins. Sri Madhvacharya says in kriShNAmRuta mahArNava that the fire of merit of observing Ekadhasi converts the sins of hundreds of births into ashes.

EkAdashi is a fasting day to get rid of for our sins of indulging in undesirable acts through our dasha indriyAs. It is a vaiShNava vrata which is greater than all yAgAs and its power to destroy sins is unmatched if we follow the dos & don'ts of it strictly.

DOs:

Make a sankalpa for three day (dashami, EkAdashi, dvAdashi)

Worship, meditate & think about Hari

On EkAdashi day, take tiirtha only once and have only angAra mark (black vertical line) on the forehead. (no akShate)

Even while in their periods, women have to observe EkAdashi

Even during sUtaka, EkAdashi has to be observed

DONTs:

Do not consume ANY food, water, juice, etc

Do not sleep during day-time

varAha purANa specifies the pregnant women, mothers of infants and people who are very weak are given concession.Only they can take fruits like banana, dates, grapes, milk, curd, coconut milk and uncooked grains.

EkAdashi vrata begins with the sankalpa on the dashami (tenth) day.The sankalpa mantra to be chanted after performing sandhyavandane is: